I finally made my first sale on Etsy!!!!!!!!!!
I know this might not seem like a 10-exclamation-point-worthy event to those of you who are unfamiliar with Etsy, or those of you who are Etsy sellers that have feedback on 50+ transactions. But it's cause for celebration for me! It motivated me to get a few more completed items that were just languishing in the "craft closet" up and listed.
I managed to take some decent photos but would like to build a homemade light box so I can get those nice "professional" looking shots as well. I still want to take some photos with other backgrounds and with models as well. I'd love to be more thorough about my progress on each project on my Ravelry account so that if people are curious what I'm making they can take a sneak peek. I also like that I can make notes about pattern changes or how I came up with the design on Ravelry and not feel like I'm putting too much information - Ravelry is for geeking out. Etsy shoppers may not always be as interested in all the minutiae.
I am hoping to get some more items finished and in the shop in time for people's holiday gifting. It's tempting to turn right around and spend the money I made from the sale on something for myself, or for another knitting project, but I really need to work my way through this ridiculous stash spread out in three locations all over our house. I do want to reinvest the profit in my "business" (I put it in quotes because it seems weird to call it that!) but instead of buying more materials I think I ought to wait and try to put it toward something like labels for the items or business cards or what have you.
Eventually my goal is to make enough from the sale of my hand knits, etc., to supplement our family's income so that I don't have to work as much (preferably at all!) outside the home. It might be difficult to dedicate as much time to this endeavor as I'd like over the next few years while our babes are itty bitty, but because I love knitting and crafting it's hardly a chore to try. And that is half the point; to be able to spend time with my children during these already fleeting years while they are young.
The worst that could happen is that I make a bunch of beautiful things and get to share them with some people. Sounds pretty win-win to me...
